Abstract

This dissertation studies Second Fronting, an Old English sound change which is associated with Mercian, one of the Old English dialects. Due to the lack of preserved material of this dialect, it is very difficult to analyse Second Fronting in detail. Hence it is a change that although it is included in every textbook on the history of English, it is usually described in fairly brief terms.
This work deals with Second Fronting and aims to give an historical outline of the change as well as presenting new results that either emphasise old approaches or point the finger into a new direction for the study.
The research draws on late Old English Mercian material as well as on Middle English data of dialects that are thought to be the descendents of Mercian containing Second Fronting reflexes.
Furthermore, existing phonological theories on this particular sound change are given to show what kind of work has been done already in the field.
The research itself consists of a questionnaire that is run against carefully chosen texts. The outcome of this questionnaire is presented in tables and interpreted, using the model of language study known as lexical diffusion.
This dissertation stresses that due to the lack of evidence former approaches to Second Fronting can be simply questioned. In addition, it discovers that hardly anything has been done to investigate the origins of the change and hence suggests that more research should be carried out on the triggering of Second Fronting.